Illegal immigration has been a continuing problem in which many people have offered solutions; some have worked better than others. Secure Communities is a program that was implemented in 2008 and has caused serious controversy because of the mandatory nature of the new program policy. This paper will review an article called Federal immigration enforcement is mandatory, memo says. In addition, the pros, cons, and various implications will be reviewed. Article Summary A program in 2008 called Secure Communities was launched with the purpose of focusing on illegal immigration of “serious convicted criminals” (Esquivel, 2012, p. 1). In this program, the FBI shares fingerprints from county jails with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some local leaders and state leaders found that many immigrants that are caught in the system did not have any criminal records or they had low-level offences (Esquivel, 2012). When the program was first created, federal officials, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Welch said that state and local officials could get out of the program. Three states opted out or suspended their participation. Two years have passed since the Secure Communities program was implemented to enforce immigration law. Recently, a memo written on October 2, 2010 was released to the public that stated law enforcement agencies that did not want to participate or wanted limited participation with the program would no longer be able to make that decision because the program is mandatory. The information-sharing process is going to be streamlined and some other aspects that would allow states to opt out are going to be eliminated, making the program essentially “mand.

. . in the middle, community policing is affected, and people are afraid to report crimes. The biggest apparent issue is the inability to opt out of the program, since it will be mandatory in 2013. Works CitedEsquivel, P. (2012, January 8). Federal immigration enforcement is mandatory, memo says. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/08/local/la-me-ice-foia-20120109 Preston, J. (2011, June 6). Immigration program is rejected by third state. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/us/politics/07immig.html?_r=1 The New York Times. (2012, March 12). Immigration and Emigration. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration-and-emigration/index.html U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). (2012). Secure Communities. Retrieved from http://www.ice.gov/secure_communities/